SIPHR 2020
Stichting (Foundation) Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights is a Dutch non-profit organization that helps people stand up for their most basic human rights through free legal aid and information. For this we mainly work together with our local partner organization iPeace.
For several years now, the legal aid center in Huye has been offering free legal aid to people in southern Rwanda who do not have the financial means to turn to commercial legal aid. Once a week they can go to the office of the center for free legal aid and information. In addition, work is being done on setting up a telephone line, so that people who live further away, in often remote places, can also use the services of the legal aid shop.
In view of the current situation with Corona, setting up the telephone line is extra relevant at the moment. Legal assistance is provided by a team from our partner organization iPeace, consisting of law students from the national university of Rwanda and experienced lawyers from the region. Questions that the counselors have to deal with concern, for example, family law, inheritance law or property law. The majority of the clients of the Rechtswinkel are women. It is often extra difficult for women in Rwanda to access the legal system, receive advice on legal matters and enforce their rights. Information and legal aid are essential parts of working towards a fairer and more equitable society, in which women are treated equally. We believe that this project is in line with your objective: “Equal rights for men and women and empowerment of women and girls”
We gave this foundation an amount of 1250 Euros